Air quality
Air quality in Edinburgh today
Updated
Good (US AQI 35) Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity. Model estimate for Mon, Oct 26, 2:00 am (02:00 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 35 Good
- PM2.5
- 3.2 µg/m³ 0.2× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 10 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 76 µg/m³
- Dominant pollutant
- ozone sub-index 35
- Best hour today
- 9:00 pm AQI 27
- European AQI
- 28
Air quality in Edinburgh right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom is 35, which falls in the "Good" band (up to 50). Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity.
The index is driven mainly by ozone, whose own sub-index is 35. Ozone usually peaks in the afternoon on sunny days and falls back after sunset.
PM2.5 is 3.2 µg/m³, within the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 10 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 76 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 2 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Also this hour: carbon monoxide 150 µg/m³.
NASA FIRMS shows 3 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 143 km), but particle levels are not elevated enough to point to smoke right now.
Edinburgh AQI forecast: next 48 hours
Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 27 around Mon 9:00 pm to 35 around Mon 2:00 am, staying "Good" throughout.
The following day looks similar, averaging about 31.
| Local time (Europe/London) | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2:00 am | 35 | Good | 3.2 | 10 | 76 |
| Mon 5:00 am | 35 | Good | 3.7 | 8 | 72 |
| Mon 8:00 am | 34 | Good | 3.8 | 10 | 59 |
| Mon 11:00 am | 31 | Good | 3.8 | 9 | 64 |
| Mon 2:00 pm | 29 | Good | 2.5 | 5 | 62 |
| Mon 5:00 pm | 29 | Good | 1.8 | 3 | 56 |
| Mon 8:00 pm | 28 | Good | 4.2 | 9 | 61 |
| Mon 11:00 pm | 27 | Good | 3.7 | 11 | 65 |
| Tue 2:00 am | 30 | Good | 1.9 | 6 | 66 |
| Tue 5:00 am | 30 | Good | 2.4 | 6 | 66 |
| Tue 8:00 am | 31 | Good | 2.3 | 5 | 63 |
| Tue 11:00 am | 30 | Good | 2.2 | 5 | 68 |
| Tue 2:00 pm | 31 | Good | 1.8 | 4 | 69 |
| Tue 5:00 pm | 32 | Good | 2.3 | 5 | 71 |
| Tue 8:00 pm | 32 | Good | 2.4 | 6 | 71 |
| Tue 11:00 pm | 32 | Good | 2.7 | 8 | 66 |
| Wed 2:00 am | 32 | Good | 2.6 | 6 | 67 |
Every third hour of the CAMS forecast via Open-Meteo. US AQI uses rolling averages (24 h for particles, 8 h for ozone), so it moves more slowly than the hourly concentrations.
Best time to be outside in Edinburgh today
Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air today is forecast around 9:00 pm (AQI 27, Good) and the worst around 6:00 am (AQI 35). The difference across the day is small, so timing matters little.
Edinburgh vs the rest of United Kingdom
Across 117 United Kingdom cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 32 (Good). Edinburgh at 35 is about average.
It ranks 107 of 117 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is London (27) and the most polluted Newquay (37).
For context, the median across 3,556 cities worldwide is 58.
Air quality in cities near Edinburgh
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkcaldy | 18 km | 35 | Good | 3.2 |
| Perth, Scotland | 51 km | 35 | Good | 3.1 |
| Hamilton, Scotland | 56 km | 35 | Good | 3.4 |
| Glasgow | 67 km | 34 | Good | 3.7 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 148 km | 34 | Good | 3.9 |
| Aberdeen | 149 km | 36 | Good | 2.2 |
| Washington, England | 158 km | 34 | Good | 3.9 |
Model vs measured
The nearest measured PM2.5 reading is 0.7 µg/m³ from Sensor.Community (median of 7 sensors), centred about 5 km from the city centre. That is close to the model estimate of 3.2 µg/m³. Low-cost sensors can read high in humid air; reference monitors are more accurate but sparser.
Advice for sensitive groups
With the AQI at 35, there is no need for sensitive groups to change plans. People with asthma should still carry their reliever inhaler as usual.
What the US AQI numbers mean
| US AQI | Category | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 0-50 | Good | Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity. |
| 51-100 | Moderate | Acceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors. |
| 101-150 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should cut back on prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors. |
| 151-200 | Unhealthy | Everyone should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors; sensitive groups should avoid it and keep windows closed. |
| 201-300 | Very Unhealthy | Health alert: everyone should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors, and sensitive groups should stay indoors. |
| 301-500 | Hazardous | Emergency conditions: everyone should avoid all outdoor physical activity and stay indoors with filtered air if possible. The scale tops out at 500; heavier dust or smoke is shown as 500. |
Values on this page are modelled by CAMS (Copernicus) and served by Open-Meteo; they are estimates for the area around the city centre, not readings from an official monitor.
Nearby cities
More for Edinburgh
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), Sensor.Community, NASA FIRMS.